Teaching Unscripted

"It's the conditions, not the kids that determine success," writes Kelly Boswell. And today we'll listen in on a preview of Kelly's new audiobook, Every Kid a Writer: Strategies That Get Everyone Writing. Kelly reminds us that every writer is reluctant to write at some point. And in her book, Kelly provides six field-tested strategies to get everyone in the classroom writing with energy and enthus...

How can writing help students see they are not alone? This week Liz is joined by Barry Lane, songwriter and teacher, to talk about the invitation of the open page. Instead of following rules in writing, students learn the power of writing and the intrinsic joy of expressing their consciousness on this planet. We begin with a story from Barry's childhood when he discovered the power of writing. See...

How can writing lead to vulnerability, bravery, and freedom for students? How does teaching occur at that nexus of storytelling, performance and art? This week on the Writing as Healing podcast series, Liz Prather is joined by Shamari Reid, a Heinemann author and professor at NYU, to talk about elevating the personal-writing voice and closing your classroom door as an act of self-love. See Privacy...

How can classroom teachers invite their students to speak back to the world in this current moment? How does writing allow students to be seen and heard? Welcome to Writing as Healing, a Heinemann podcast series focused on writing as a tool to increase healing in students and teachers. We know that academic learning doesn't happen without social and emotional support. And writing as a key literacy...

Today, educator Alycia Owen and Heinemann author Andrea Honigsfeld, discuss the great importance of Andrea's newly released Growing Language and Literacy: Strategies for Secondary Multilingual Learners. This book takes the same framework from Andrea's K-8 book and applies it specifically to the secondary setting. Together, they delve into the importance of addressing every level of proficiency thr...

We know that academic learning doesn't happen without social and emotional support, and writing as a key literacy is uniquely positioned in every classroom to do both. How does writing help students connect to their lives and develop vulnerability in order to bravely show up and speak their truth? How does writing create advocacy for students? This week, I'm joined by Willie Carver, a poet, and th...

For so long, history has been taught chronologically, but does it have to be and should it be? China Harvey and Lisa Herzig would argue that it does not and it should not. They are authors of the brand new book Teaching Beyond the Timeline: Engaging Students in Thematic History . And today we'll hear about their innovative approach to teaching history thematically. We'll explore the motivations be...

We know that academic learning doesn't happen without social and emotional support. And writing as a key literacy is uniquely positioned in every classroom to do both. This week, Heinemann author Liz Prather is joined by David Rockower, a freelance writer and Pennsylvania middle school teacher, to talk about writing with students as an act of community and vulnerability and using patience and writ...

Writing as Healing is a Heinemann podcast series focused on writing as a tool to increase healing in students and educators. We know that academic learning doesn’t happen without social and emotional support, and writing, as a key literacy, is uniquely positioned in every classroom to do both. This week, Liz is joined by Stacey Joy, a self-published poet and California 5th grade teacher, to talk a...

In his new book, Humans Who Teach: A Guide for Centering Love, Justice and Liberation in Schools, author Shamari Reid writes that the ways in which we have been socialized can hold us back. This book is an invitation to examine those social lessons so we can show up in more loving ways for ourselves as teachers and for our students. He lays out a path for this work by honoring our own humanity and...

Welcome to The Dispatch, a Heinemann podcast series. Over the next several weeks we'll hear from Heinemann thought leaders as they discuss the most pressing issues in education today. In this episode, we hear from co-authors and longtime friends Katie Kelly and Lester Laminack about the importance of treating teachers like the professionals they are and celebrating the incredible work they do. See...

A few lines of poetry can reveal so much about a student's interests, experiences and inner world. Imagine a classroom where poetry isn't just a side activity, but a cornerstone of learning and a tool for building community. Today, we hear from Georgia Heard, author of the brand new edition of Awakening the Heart and classroom teacher, Megan Sloan, about how they've used poetry to help them get to...

In today's episode, Heinemann author Carol Jago speaks to the resilience she observes in both teachers and students. Our conversation begins with her thoughts on the implications of AI. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Welcome to The Dispatch, a Heinemann podcast series. Over the next several weeks, we'll hear from Heinemann thought leaders as they discuss the most pressing issues in education today. In today's episode we hear from Heinemann author Kristen Bourdage about designing instruction that deepens learning to prepare students for meeting the challenges of life with creativity, problem solving, and inquir...

Despite the fact that our current high school math curriculum is often outdated and not preparing students for the current societal and workplace realities, change is slow to come. Today, we hear from Steve Leinwand and Eric Milou, longtime champions of high school math instruction reform and authors of Invigorating High School Math. Steve starts the conversation with his thoughts on what the road...

Over the next several weeks, we'll hear from Heinemann thought leaders as they discuss the most pressing issues in education today. In today's episode, we hear from Heinemann author Liz Prather about the pressure of the teacher shortage and how we can support teachers who come to education through alternative certification.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva...

Welcome to The Dispatch, a Heinemann podcast series. Over the next several weeks we’ll hear from Heinemann thought leaders as they reflect on the work they do in schools across the country and discuss, from their perspective, the most pressing issues in education today.   Today we hear from secondary teacher R. Joseph Rodríguez.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and C...

Today we hear from Heinemann math author Sue O'Connell about the importance of positive math identities for both students and teachers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Welcome to The Dispatch, a Heinemann podcast series. Over the next several weeks we'll hear from Heinemann thought leaders as they reflect on the work they do in schools across the country and discuss, from their perspective, the most pressing issues in education today. Today we'll hear from longtime collaborators Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher.  Penny and Kelly are co-authors of 180 Days:...

Today, we'll hear author Andrea Honigsfeld in conversation with Pam Schwallier, the director of EL and Bilingual Programs at West Ottawa Public Schools in Michigan. Andrea is the author of Growing Language and Literacy: Strategies for English Learners. The deep respect they have for their profession and for the population of students who bring rich linguistic heritages to the classroom is powerful...

Our guest on the podcast today is author Shamari Reid. His forthcoming book, Humans Who Teach: A Guide for Centering Love, Justice and Liberation in Schools is a beautiful, anecdotal exploration of self-compassion in a demanding profession. This conversation will give you insight into how those explorations became the foundation for a timely, compact book that guides you through the same work of e...

The Reading Strategies Book 2.0 by Jennifer Serravallo is designed to meet every type of reader, and today we are noting the one-year anniversary of this book. We're revisiting a podcast conversation from early 2023 between Jen and our former colleague, Jaclyn Karabinas. Jen talks about why she wanted to write this new edition, its timeliness, the detailed research process, and what new features r...

Today we’ll revisit a podcast from 2019 on the book Inquiry Illuminated: Researcher’s Workshop Across the Curriculum ,  by Anne Goudvis, Stephanie Harvey, and Brad Buhrow .  Anne and Steph, along with the book’s contributor Karen Halverson, joined my colleague Brett to discuss a structure for inquiry that's predictable, proven, and—most importantly—authentic. Inquiry doesn’t just happen....

Today we revisit a podcast from 2020 when my colleague Steph spoke with Mary Ehrenworth, Pablo Wolfe, and Marc Todd, co-authors of  The Civically Engaged Classroom: Reading, Writing, and Speaking for Change .  Their book offers strategies and lessons for facilitating civic engagement that you can use in your classroom immediately. They believe that the work of engaging young people isn’t...

In this podcast from 2021 Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher discuss their deep dive into the four essential studies of essay, poetry, book clubs and digital composition. Their aim is to move beyond compliance and formula, and to develop students’ agency, independence, and decision-making skills. Penny and Kelly write that these four practices, have the power to transform students’ relationship...